Political Question

[Kilgor]

Why is it when you watch the news you never hear the word socialist? I always hear about the Religious right, Extreme right, ultra conservative and so on.

People in militias are called right wing fanatics but the Black Panthers are called Social Activists. You never hear anybody call Hillary Clinton a leftwing extremist.

What I?m really asking is why the press seems so afraid of labeling some Democrats as Socialist or even Communist, but has no problem labeling Republicans.

 

[Robert01]

They would be labeling themselves, and you know that's not politically correct...at least from their perspective. It's like calling yourself <beep>.

 

[Shantanu]

It's called the &quot;left wing media&quot;.

Welcome to America.

 

[yellowperil]

That depends on whether you view the term socialist as negative. Socialism is a term for an ideology, it's not a derogatory term like 'extremist' or 'fanatic'.

 

[hendon]

Well, to them, Hillary Clinton or Ted Kennedy is probably middle-of-the-road/moderate... probably no one &quot;leftwing&quot; enough for them to call them such..

 

[Kilgor]

<< It's called the &quot;left wing media&quot;. >>



But are they afraid of calling themselves what the are? British politicians have no problem calling themselves socialists. Why does it seem the American left is so afraid to do the same?

 

[Nutdotnet]

I guess you don't watch much of the &quot;Nascar Network&quot; (Fox News).

They love to bash liberals there.

 

[hendon]

<< But are they afraid of calling themselves what the are? >>



Well, they're all supposed to be unbiased reporters of the news, just like Dan Rather

 

[Shantanu]

<< But are they afraid of calling themselves what the are? British politicians have no problem calling themselves socialists. Why does it seem the American left is so afraid to do the same? >>



Because in Britain, being a socialist is a moderate stance. Being a commie and the American equivalent of a moderate are the political extremes there. Naturally, all the politicians want to pass themselves off as moderates over there, so they call themselves socialists.

Fortunatly, here in America, our society hasn't degenerated to the point of dependence that the slightest problem of any sort causes the people to chant in unison &quot;Why doesn't the government do something about this!?&quot;, so socialism is still considered by most to be a left wing extreme. That's why classic socialist blowhards like Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton don't advertise themselves as such.

 

[Robert01]

<< But are they afraid of calling themselves what the are? British politicians have no problem calling themselves socialists. Why does it seem the American left is so afraid to do the same? >>

The media was responsible for covering the McCarthy trials in the 1950s and also producing proganda throughout the Cold War. Socialism or Communism, therefore, is met with negative feelings.

 

[Kilgor]

Nutdotnet, I do watch Fox News it might be a little biased to the right, but it doesn?t seem quite as bad as the main stream media. They have the same news as ABC and the others, but they show the stories that most other news outlets seem to have missed.



<< Socialism or Communism, therefore, is met with negative feelings. >>



I don?t have any problems with the whiney Socialists like Ted and Hillary because in general most Americans are smart enough not to believe them. But you can?t call yourself a communist and still be an American, because Communism and the Constitution don?t mix.